Greetings fellow gardeners. As I am writing this, the wind is is still blowing. Tree branches are down all around my street and I had to re-stake 2 of my own precious trees (stakes broke). Luckily I caught them both in time before they snapped. Both of my neighbors lost plants yesterday in the wind. Mother nature really likes toying with us! If you have newly planted trees or tall perennials, you might want to make sure they are well supported. The wind is supposed to subside by tomorrow, but I have a feeling we have a lot more in store for us this season. We have the supplies you need to properly support your precious plants, so come down to the nursery and we'll make sure you get everything you need to do the job right.

In case some of you haven't noticed, I have been absent at the nursery. I had back surgery in September and I'm hoping to be back to my home away from home (the nursery) in late November. I miss my fellow employees and customers and I'm having gardening withdrawals! Since I'm unable to bend or twist, gardening has been nearly impossible. I've had to be very creative in doing things for myself. I use objects such as a garden hoe and a hand rake that my husband connected to the handle of a shovel that was broken to pick things up. I was given a grabber tool at the hospital, but it isn't strong enough to pick certain objects up. That's where our creativity came in. Of course I won't be able to get down and pull weeds or plant my snapdragons and primroses like I usually do, but at least I'm able to pick up the hose and move it around in the yard to water my plants by myself. Watering is truly therapeutic, especially after surgery!

A heart-felt thank you to all of you who have had me in their thoughts and prayers. A stronger and surgically repaired Kym will be back soon. I promise!!!

Have fun in the garden...
Kym

We often think of the winter as cold, windy and bleak. Well, your garden doesn’t have to be that way. There are lots of things you can add to your garden to make it come alive with color, and structural interest.



While there aren’t a lot of plants that actually bloom in the winter there are a few. For instance Carolina jessamine is a bright yellow flowering vine that often shows color all winter in our climate. It sets it’s buds in the fall and usually they crack open in November and shows specks of yellow.


Gelsemium in full bloom  Photo by Jungle Jim

I have talked about Sasanquas before, but they deserve an additional mention with their showy three inch flowers from October through January depending of the weather.



The weather is finally cooling off. Now is when I start planting my winter flowers. Depending on the weather, planting too soon can let a lot of flowers stretch too much.

At the nursery we have started replanting our flower beds with the planters at the entrance to the nursery. Next will be the beds at the street. When you drive by keep an eye out for what we are doing.

In addition Katy and the rest of the bedding staff are starting to redo our display pots and gardens inside the nursery.

At home I have planted a few snaps and soon some pansies, primroses, and Iceland poppies.

Last year Donna and I waited too long and most of the flowers didn’t really perform until spring. One year is enough.

  Sincere Fall Family Fun Festival Thank You!

A sincere thank you goes out to all who helped make Scenic Nursery’s first Fall Family Fun Festival, September 25-27th, such a successful event. Linked with the Fall Festival, Scenic Nursery also ran a canned food drive through the Salvation Army’s Emergency Food Program. We applaud you all for bringing in well over 400 cans for local families in need!

Despite temperatures over 100 degrees, the weekend was filled with fun, food, music, education, and sales. Friday started with eager customers taking advantage of the 30% off everything sale. As people left with carts full of plants, it allowed us to start thinking about some of the new, unique plants we will be carrying in Scenic’s near future. Friday evening heated up with a Modesto Garden Club Evening Glow Planting Party where friends gathered to plant their fall containers. We thank the Modesto Garden Club members and friends for all of your support in making this event a success. These participants brought in around 175 cans for local families in need. Wow!

There was so shortage of sunshine Saturday the 26th as our customers gathered to enjoy community education, BBQ hotdogs, fun kids games, live music, and great deals. Mr. Howard Rogers of California Sky Ads kicked things off as he flew over the nursery and surrounding area with a banner proclaiming our Fall Festival event and sale: Thank you very much Mr. Rogers! By 9:30 am, 4-H, FFA, and Ag Science students from Enochs High, Downey High, Johansen High, and Grace Davis High arrived with rabbits, piglets and chickens to show off to all the youthful participants. We appreciate very much these young adults who came to educate kids and adults on the importance of agriculture in this area and for a sustainable future. They also helped young festival-goers plant containers to take home and enjoy. For their participation, these organizations earned community service hours. We look forward to working with these fine young men and women again in the future and say thank you for coming!

We would like to thank the Stanislaus Wildlife Care Center for sharing information Saturday. Oscar the rescued owl greeted customers as his handler taught and encouraged people to learn more about what we can do as a community to help rescued California wild animals. To rescue people from landscape design mistakes, Jim Rogers laid out the basics to great landscape design at 10 am. Thanks to all who attended. We look forward to even more learning opportunities with Jim. He is a wealth of knowledge.

From 11 am-2 pm, kid’s enjoyed face painting, balloons, bean bag toss, the fishing game, arts and crafts, planting, petting, and lunch. Adults shopped as they enjoyed Jazzoni, a local jazz and blues band, who created incredible ambiance. Jazzoni was fabulous and their participation was greatly valued. We look forward to having them back for another event. Sunday, Rose Loveall came to give her back-by-demand talk on choosing perennials and herbs—a thank you to her for coming in.

As we wrapped up the Fall Festival, we began thinking about our upcoming events. We’ve got many fun and informative workshops, demos, and seminars planned for fall. Catch CA native plant expert Jim Brugger’s talk on California native plants this weekend October 10th at 10am(which we now carry). Come in for a Coming Events handout for more complete details or look on the coming events sidebar for more information. Our Sunflower Children’s Events lineup will be on the back of that handout. Check out the Annual Scarecrow Stuffing Event and Spooktacular Halloween Happening! Fun, Fun, Fun!  

When ever I use the word camellia to my design customers I know they are thinking about Japanese camellias, Camellia japonica, with the 3 to 6” flowers mainly in February through April.

Although they are spectacular, there is a group that is getting more and more recognition. That is the Sasanquas. In fact when I am discussing them with my design customers often I just call them sasanquas. This reduces the confusion. Sasanquas are smaller growing, finer textured, smaller flowered and bloom in October through January depending on the weather.

Bulbs can be fun gardening

So, you want some Spring color in your garden. Mistakes I see people making is depending on the standard Daffodils and Tulips. Yes, they can make a great show, the problem is they aren’t always reliable about coming back. Especially where they get too much summer water.

Most of our bulbs come from dry summer climates. Tulips for instance are native to Turkey and most of the ancestors of the garden daffodil are from the Mediterranean climates from Spain through Turkey. When we water extensively during them summer it allows the bulbs to rot when they are dormant.

There are a number of small flowering species tulips that are much more reliable about increasing. Tulip clusiana is one that I have used at home with good results. I tuck them in spots that don’t get all the water the rest of my garden does in the summer. This picture shows the increase in the second year. The first year there was only one flower in each clump. And I expect even more this next spring.

Tulip clusiana: Picture by Jungle Jim

Over the years I have used Ivy geraniums as ground cover for the wonderful summer color. I used Beacon geraniums first for trememdous effect. The problem Beacons hqve it their need to be pinched to keep them bushy. This year I used Caliente Fire. This is a bushy naturally branching single flowered variety that loved the summer weather here.

  Ive Geranium Caliente Fire Photo by Jungle Jim

Most of the semi double and double Ivy geraniums stall or quit blooming in the hot weather. The picture posted here is a grouping of three plants. They are five feet across in one summer and they have bloomed all summer. At this point I can recommend the Caliente varieties as tremendous basket plants and as wonderful ground cover. I have in the past been able to use them for three years, although an exceptionally cold winter can freeze them out.

There are lots of perennials to try. one of my favorite short term perennials is perennial statice.

Short term means a three to five year life span. Considering how much color Statice give you, three to five years is a premendous amount of color. It loves sun and slightly dry soil. A little fertilizer and what a show. If you have seen some of my pictures of Donna and my garden you know how large it is. I plant a single plant for a color accent.  

 Perennial statice  photo by Jungle Jim

If you look at my pictures notice how much room i gave it. Plants used for accents need some space to allow them to be seen. This is a rule I use in all my design work.

Do you remember coming in to the nursery last spring and seeing the beautiful foxglove in spectacular bloom; do you remember the Canterbury Bells in bloom; remember the delphinium?
Gardening is often not instant gratification and spring blooming perennials are a strong case in point. For the best resultsm youm have to plant in the Fall and that starts now. By planting now you get a strong root system that allows for most spectacular show in the spring.
All the spring blooming perennials (annuals too for that matter) do best when planted in September and October.

We will be planting in the nursery beds in the next couple of weeks. Don’t miss the boat again.

Scenic's September Newsletter is now available online and in the store. Check out what new and unusual things Kym is bringing in to the bedding department along with the amazing things we already carry. Now is the time to get in perennials and cool season annuals--April makes encourages you to prepare for this transition and recommends some handouts to help you select great perennials and bulbs. Now is also a great time to fertilize lawns, shrubs, bedding plants, trees, and groundcovers with that last high nitrogen fertilizer before switching over to a low nitrogen fertilizer such as Master Bloom. Find out what fertilizer does for your plant as Tally breaks down the N-P-K ratio and the differences, pros, and cons of using different types of fertilizers such as organics, inorganics, and synthetics. Jim reveals more about the progress of his yard design makeover (number three); find out what's doing beautifully and what advice he gives from his own gardening experiences. Diana talks about her fondness for fall bulbs in this month's newsletter. If you need to come up with a great gift for someone special, see what suggestions Diana makes for a bulb bowl pumped up. As always, see what awesome workshops, demos, and seminars we have planned for the end of summer/ fall for adults and kids! We'd love to see you all. 

http://scenicnurserynews.com/news/9/35

 Did you get to our fruit tasting a couple of weeks ago. If not, you missed tasting the new Nectaplum Spice Zee. The nursery staff and the people coming in for the tasting loved this new type of fruit. Katie thought it was like eating candy. Although I have not yet seen it growing, I am hearing it is an ornamental with showy fruit and colored foliage

What's Grow'n On at Scenic Nursery  

     Does fruit tree harvest time always have you thinking about what else you would like to add to your backyard orchard?  We want to thank Dave Wilson Nursery for hosting the successful bareroot season kickoff fruit tasting and Q & A this past weekend.  Come on in today to pick up our 2009-2010 fruit tree order form and bareroot rose order form. If you need suggestions about managing or planning for backyard orchards, we've got great handouts on the subject right by the register. Orders generally come in around the end of December through the middle of January. If you have any questions, please call 523-7978.

As I go out on remodeling jobs I often get called in after someone takes all the old plants out.Driving around the other day, I again saw some gardens that were in the process of remodeling stripped to the dirt. I hate to see old established gardens turned into new gardens starting from scratch.

Often owners are tired of seeing this overgrown “stuff” in their yard and say “get rid of everything.” The problem is that often there are things that can be “repurposed.” Isn’t that a wonderful word, repurposed.  I learned it watching some of the redecorating shows on Home and Garden Network.

In the garden it means taking overgrown plants and shaping them into interesting multi-trunked trees or accent plants.Often I can find uses for things that the homeowner doesn’t.

When you are looking over your yard, look for things that have an attractive or intresting structure and try to find ways to incorporate them into your new garden.Just a few old established plants can do a lot to give a remodeled garden an established feel.

Crape myrtle

This peak crape myrtle season and I would like to share a few tips about choosing new Crapes. We frequently get complaints about some of the older varieties with mildew problems. This a disease related to mildew on roses and causes the foliage to get a white powdery coating. Depending it cam be annoying or bad enough that the Crape myrtle doesn’t bloom well.

This is a fifteen year old Zuni

There has never been a good solution for mildew on Crape Myrtle, but now there is something you can do to not have the problem on new plants.

A number of years ago there were some breeding of crape myrtles going on in the true south of the US. It primarily involved crossing faureri and indica species. The faureri genes brought mildew resistance and the indica larger flowers and better colors.

Together, with this breeding, a lot of additional information about sizes and growth patterns became available.

Today ask about what size you want and then choose the color from varieties that grow to the right size.

Varieties we recommend include:

Tall  these grow 20-25’

Dynamite and Red Rocket – bright red
Muskogee – light lavender pink
Tuscarora – bright coral red
Natchez – white

Mid sized these grow 12-15’ +

Hopi –medium Pink
Centennial Spirit – watermelon red

Small these grow 8–10 ft +Pecos – medium PinkZuni – deep lavender

These are all good to very good at resisting mildew problems. They all come as multi trunked trees ( the way I generally like them) or as single trunked trees.

Inn addition there are some new mini varieties that are part of the dazzler series. These grow in the 4-5’ range as a bushy plant. We have Cherry Dazzle in stock which is  cherry red with distinctive reddish new growth.

I am trying to get a handle on what to tell my nursery customers and Garden Crew Clients about hot weather watering. I am trying to keep track of what I am doing and turn it into instructions. So far I am having some trouble taking what I am doing and turn it into all summer long directions

. I am trying to water the lawn three times a week and the shrubs and trees once a week.  A third schedule is daily for a drip system that does my pots and bonsai. Because everything is not the same age in the ground I am having to touch up some things that were recently planted and touch up some things that are having the sprinklers blocked. I am checking every couple of days and touching up those things that need extra water and then I am gradually going through and adding drippers to supplement the spray heads where needed.

As the summer progresses I will report on my experience.

As point of  information ,the nursery flower beds are being watered weekly. Yes, the flower beds in front of the nursery are being watered once a week. Come in and take a look at how they are doing. Remember, this is not 5 minutes this is 20 to 25 minutes each time.

Are you watering too often??

In July's issue of the Scenic Newsletter you will find information about hydrangea care, organic hot weather planting tips, and Jim's commentary on the success of our 60th anniversary celebration. Also, check out the very delicious dirt cake recipe, kid approved.

http://scenicnurserynews.com/news/9/26/

In the winter of 1949 Sid and Mary Rogers moved to Modesto and founded Scenic Nursery at the extreme eastern edge of Modesto.  This month over the June 19th -21st weekend Sid & Mary’s son Jim is celebrating 60 years of success and growth as a small family business in Modesto.
  Most people are familiar with the tall shade tents that are a landmark at the corner of Scenic Drive and Coffee Road.  They’re also familiar with the things that make Scenic Nursery stand out from it’s competitors; wide selection, old fashioned customer service, seminars and children’s activities as well as Jim’s literal life long knowledge of plants.

Even in the recent economic downturn the Nursery has been doing brisk business as people reinvest in their homes, begin growing their own food or switch to organic gardening.  Many homeowners are also trying to decrease water usage in anticipation of water meters and call on The Garden Crew to redesign their yards into more economic areas.  The Garden Crew has come to fill a unique niche left open by regular lawn service providers by specializing in periodic maintenance such as natural pruning on trees and shrubs, and other seasonal needs like fertilizing lawns, trees and shrubs or weed control.  

“We just want our customers to know that without them we would never have gotten to 60.  We’re always striving to provide the best products and services and we really enjoy the friendly relationship we have with our customers.  They’re the reason we’re still growing.” Says April Sutis, the Nursery’s General Manager,

At the lead of it all is second generation owner Jim Rogers,  AKA ‘Jungle Jim’ who can be seen briskly marching across the Nursery with his black cap on.   He still enjoys his job and is grateful for his loyal customers that travel from as far away as the bay area or the mountains.  Over the weekend of the 19th he’s decided to show his customers how much he appreciates them by offering the employee discount to everyone who walks in the doors that weekend. In usual Scenic style there are also activities scheduled for children and a BBQ on Saturday.  

The weekend’s sale and events are a fitting memorial of the success and customer gratitude passed down from the founders of the nursery for whom it wasn’t just a business, but a family. “My parents enjoyed the long friendships they had with their customers” Jim says “Even now I enjoy talking to people who remember Sid and Mary.” 
 

When our customers are used to a variety of plant for over fifty years it is unnerving to have to change. Last fall the problem happened with onions. We have sold Stockton Red Onions since 1950 and people love them. We had to replace them with Red Burger Onions.

 The large sweet onions that are so popular around here, were a hallmark of the onion grower from Sacramento to Merced. Unfortunately, everything must end eventually. Our grower of onions is primarily a grower for the farmers to put out in the fields and over the last several years they have been switching to Red Burger Onion. I know a lot of our customers were worried about the change we were forced to make last fall.

Tammi, who is our Garden Crew office person, is one of them. I know she was worried that the new variety wouldn't be as good as the old standard. A few days ago she caught a call from a customer that was concerned that the onions he was growing weren't as big as he was used to.  Even though she didn’t think the onions were finished, she decided to dig a few and see what they looked like.

I think she was reassured that her onion crop would be as good as before. I will do an additional post when the final growing is over, but here are some early pictures.

This is a picture that I took in front of the office yesterday morning. What do you think.